There are a number of desirable properties for robotic manipulators, and it is difficult to achieve all of these at the same time:
no backslip PA0 direct drive PA0 rigid construction PA0 hollow cavity to transport tubing and electrical cables PA0 light weight PA0 statically mounted motors PA0 simple mechanism PA0 high scalability PA0 used to rotate or bend the next stage, or PA0 transmitted to a system of concentric tubes that forms the next stage
The present invention satisfies all of these constraints. It does this by using a novel drive mechanism, which transmits multiple degrees of freedom of movement through a series of N concentrically arranged hollow tubes. All mechanical movement from one stage is embodied in the relative rotation about a common central axis of these tubes, which can also provide mechanical support. The drive power of any given tube is either:
This process is continued in a succession of stages, until all N degrees of freedom have been used.